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Colorado school funding rebounding from cuts during Great Recession

By Zahira TorresThe Denver Post

Posted:
07/16/2013 12:01:00 AM MDT

Updated:
07/16/2013 08:29:28 AM MDT

Suzi Christoffersen works with Isaiah Garcia during class at Edgewater Elementary in June. State per-pupil funding for public education is expected to grow to an average of $6,652 in the 2013-14 school year. (Seth McConnell, The Denver Post)

Colorado schools will get a sizable bump in per-student funding for the first time since the Great Recession, but the increase offers a false sense of economic progress, according to several district officials.

State per-pupil funding for public education is expected to grow to an average of $6,652 in the 2013-14 school year, a nearly $180 increase from the previous two years when it remained fairly stagnant at about $6,472 and $6,476.

But while the funding is beginning to rebound after years of decline, the average remains about $400 less per student than it was in the 2009-10 school year. This despite inflation, higher fuel and electricity costs and new requirements for teacher evaluations and online student testing, district officials said.

"While we are doing better, we will not recover from the last several years of reductions for a long time to come," said Tustin Amole, spokeswoman for the Cherry Creek School District.

Cherry Creek officials said the district will add about 22 teaching positions in the upcoming school year because of a voter-approved tax hike and additional state money, which should provide $6,577 per student in 2013-14. But officials said the district has eliminated more than 100 teaching positions since the state reduced the $7,005 per student it was providing nearly four years ago.

The district, which is still negotiating with its teachers union, has also included money in its 2013-14 budget to provide salary increases based on tenure and educational attainment. It primarily offered partial raises in previous years.

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Lawmakers cut funding for public education in 2010 while contending with the national and state economic downturn. The funding never bounced back, and school districts sought to make ends meet by eliminating certain educational programs and cutting jobs and salaries.

The cuts were most visible in the state's six largest school districts — Adams 12, Aurora, Cherry Creek, Denver, Douglas County and Jefferson County — where hundreds of jobs were eliminated, parents were saddled with additional fees and class sizes grew.

Jefferson County, the state's largest school district, last year instituted furloughs and shortened the work year. The move led to a 3 percent cut in pay for employees. Increased revenues in 2013-14 provide a rosier outlook for the district, which plans to restore the 3 percent to employee salaries.

"That's a biggie for us," said Lorie Gillis, the district's chief financial officer.

But Gillis and officials from other school districts said much of the economic rebound is owed to voter-approved property tax increases that supplement state funding. Last year, Jefferson County passed a $39 million property tax increase. The district previously asked voters to accept a tax hike in 2008, but that effort failed.

Aurora Public Schools also received voter approval in 2012 for a $15 million property tax increase. District officials said the additional money helped alleviate some reductions that resulted from the state cutting the $7,365 Aurora was receiving per student in 2009-10.

"We've been in a budget-cutting mode," said Adrienne Bradshaw, chief financial officer for Aurora Public Schools. "This is the first time we've actually been able to restore some cuts."

The district trimmed nearly $5 million from its budget during 2012-13. Officials said they expect to restore about 81 teaching positions in the upcoming school year. They also plan to offer an average raise of about 1.5 percent, plus increases based on educational attainment and tenure. Still, Aurora Public Schools leaders said they expect $3.3 million in higher costs for employee health insurance, retirement and utilities.

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the state's system of funding K-12 was constitutional, though it may not be "optimal."

Advocates of legislation that would overhaul the school finance system have proposed a ballot initiative to raise $950 million for public education. Opponents say the two-tiered tax increase is not necessary and could dissuade businesses from relocating to Colorado.

School officials in Douglas County, a district that is against the tax initiative, said a combination of cuts and additional funding from the state in 2013-14 will allow it to distribute $200 more per pupil to schools, offer pay increases that average about 2 percent and provide an average 2 percent one-time bonus to teachers. The raises and bonuses are based on teacher evaluations and the district's own assessment of each teaching position's market value.

District officials for Douglas and Denver public schools said they have been able to mitigate some of the state reductions in per-pupil funding with money received through enrollment growth.

Still, David Hart, the chief financial officer for Denver Public Schools, said the cuts have come at a cost to programs and services.

"I'm a CFO. I'm going to balance the budget. I'm going to ensure that we meet with any legal requirement and are in compliance with our board policy," Hart said. "Using the bylines of the day, 'learn to do more with less,' 'live within your means,' we're going to do that. I'm also going to say to you, very candidly, 'You get what you pay for.' "

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